The night of 21 February 1978 in the heart of Mexico city, on the corner of the streets of Guatemala and Argentina, workers of city electric utilities have been excavating. Piercing the thick concrete floor and penetrated into the ground two meters, they suddenly came across a layer of stone. Clean the surface of the stone sticking clay workers found it a relief image and decided to put off the work till morning. To identify findings on the phone urgently summoned a group of archaeologists from the National Institute of anthropology and history. on 23 February, it was found that the find is a part of the monolith with specialized image of a human face and headwear.

Till February 27, under the supervision of archaeologists continued recovery of the finds, found a huge stone disc diameter of 3.25 M. On its surface, scientists have seen engraved Nude and dismembered woman's body without a head. According to historians, it was the goddess of the moon, Coyolxauhqui, sister of the Aztec God of war and sun Huitzilopochtli, killed and drawn, according to legend, his brother on the hill Contepec.

So unexpected discovery marked the beginning of a major excavations of the Great temple of the Aztecs in tenochtitl?n...

The Aztecs settled on a small island in lake Texcoco about 1325 at First they fell under the power of the ruler of the Azcapotzalco, which could be freed only in 1428, Subsequently militant Aztecs conquered vast lands throughout Mesoamerica. His capital of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec built up a beautiful stone houses, palaces and temples. The island they were linked and the mainland dams. The town is crossed large and small channels. It was a real "Indian Venice" - well-planned city on stilts. In its Central part was wide area with motroway pyramid - the Great temple of Tenochtitlan in honor of the God Huitzilopochtli and many smaller buildings - chapels, shrines and residences of a whole army of priests.

Stone disc with the image of goddess of Coyolxauhqui

Grandiose construction, maintenance of the clergy, the army and the Supreme ruler of the house demanded a lot of money. It is not surprising that the Aztecs were endless war with the neighboring tribes, robbed them, what was the most outrageous, destroyed all prisoners. The cruelty of the Aztecs in relation to the vanquished knew no bounds. On the altars of the Great temple was celebrated, thousands of human sacrifice. Someone priests ritual knives cut quivering heart, someone shot with arrows, tied to ritual pillars, some slowly roasted over the fire, and then, already half-dead, pulled out of the heart.

Once, in revenge for the massacres, the men of the tribe westlink secretly penetrated into the town and burned the temple to the goddess Tonatzin. The Aztecs answered the next military campaign. With the arrival of the Spaniards almost all the tribes formed the coalition that supported Cortes, and in 1521, the Aztecs were finally defeated. The white conquerors ruined Tenochtitlan, and with it the Great temple.

In a sign the final conquest of the Aztecs in place of their pyramids and temples, squares and altars erected Spanish, or rather, the colonial city of Mexico city is the capital of modern Mexico. The remains of Tenochtitlan remained under the foundations of the Catholic cathedrals, palaces of the nobility, public buildings of the Viceroyalty of Mexico. Excavation of the Great temple lasted until the end of 1982, with a team of archaeologists worked restorers, biologists, chemists, geologists and other specialists in ancient history. After almost five years of continuous work managed to sum up the first results. As it turned out, the main facade of the temple was converted to the West. He stood on the wide platform resting on the stylobate with two staircases that led to the sanctuaries of the God of war Huitzilopochtli on the South side of the temple and the God of rain and fertility Tlaloc - from the North. Before the entrance to the sanctuary Huitzilopochtli lies sacrificial stone, and the sanctuary of Tlaloc, a painted figure of Chacmool, the divine messenger, the collector of sacrifices. The Foundation of the temple with four sides are decorated with censer and a snake heads. Among other decorations - stone frog, jaguars and large shell.

During the five-year excavation was found just about seven thousand items of approximately 100 seats sacrifices. Themselves archeologists noted that the location of objects in places of sacrifice, not by chance, it corresponds to the still unsolved symbolism. In other words, these objects and their location, to be more precise orientation on parts of the world, have their own language. For example, two sacrifices, found one in the middle of the South, the other - North side, contain the same set of items laid down in the direction from North to South shell, above them, crocodiles, top, snake head, at the base of the Great temple - statuettes sitting deity believed to be the God of fire, Siwakoti guarding the center of the universe. To the right of these figures - sea coral, and the left - clay vessel with the image of Tlaloc.

Among the finds made in the Great temple, many different masks and figurines, alabaster head of deer and figurines sitting gods, sea shells, fish bones, fish head-saws, corals, crocodiles and jaguars. Findings related to the cult of the God of war Huitzilopochtli, are censers with reliefs in the form of skulls and ritual knives tekpatl, decorated with eyes and teeth, made of sea shells. Monumental stone relief of the goddess of Coyolxauhqui lay, as it turned out, at the foot of the sanctuary of the God of war, and found near a small altar with two stone frogs on the sides.

One can only imagine how savagely cruel was the religion of the Aztecs, even if their goddess was drawn his brother.

Many modern Mexican astrologers believe that the "liberation" of Coyolxauhqui brings negative consequences for the prosperity of the country, and trying to find ways of dealing with its energy field...

The great temple of Tenochtitlan, now standing on the bottom of the huge Foundation pit dug around it, first stood in vast enclosed area where other churches, chambers of soldiers, priestly school and a stadium for ritual ball game. Sophisticated religious rituals included feasts, fasts, singing, dancing, incense incense and rubber, as well as drama with human sacrifices. The latter was the most important part of the Aztec religious rites and practiced, is believed to provide gods energy and thus delay the inevitable downfall of the human race. Sacrifice, Aztecs believed necessary to sustain life cycle. Human blood was powered by the Sun, caused the rain and provided the earthly existence of the people.

Some forms of sacrifice was limited bloodletting through thorns to the plants of MagwaY, but most of the priests of the sacrifice was killed, rasprava her chest with a knife and tearing the heart. During some ceremonies they sacrificed chosen one, who had the honor to embody the divine, while others were killed many prisoners.

According to the Aztec mythology, the universe was divided into thirteen heavens and nine Underworlds worlds. The creation of the world has passed four era of development, each of which ended with the destruction of the human race: the first - from the jaguars, the second - from hurricanes, the third - from the world of fire, the fourth from the flood. The modern era Fifth Sun, according to the Aztecs, should end with terrible earthquake.